October 2009

 

Dear Subscriber

I recently read an article about French women – and the fact that cosmetic surgery isn't as popular in France as it is in the UK. Rather than trying to change their appearance, French women prefer to focus on cultivating themselves as they get older. I think we would all benefit from taking a leaf out of that book. We can't stop the ageing process, but we can put our knowledge and experience to good use to make us brighter, more interesting and happier people.

That's why this month I'm going to ask you to focus on your strengths and good qualities and together we're going to discover what they are and how you can use them to your advantage.

In this issue:

As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to make a comment or share your experiences. I love hearing from you. You can email me or call me on 01697 747 821.

Au revoir,


The Positive Part – Nip and tuck – it’s not for us!

The world is such a pressurised place these days that it's easy to get swept along and find yourself living life at an uncomfortably fast pace. Technological advances have made it possible to achieve a crazy number of things in a single day. At the same time we're constantly bombarded with images in the media telling us how we should be living our lives and what we should be aspiring to.

That's why it's important to have a clear vision of your place in the world. If you know what you stand for and why you should be valued by those around you, then coping with the daily pressures of life becomes so much easier, and at the same time, a lot more enjoyable.

Are you making the most of you? Everyone has strengths and gifts, but not everyone gives them the attention they deserve. We spend too much time focussing on our weaknesses. It's time to take an active interest in you. You need to recognise your strengths and good qualities and nurture them. When you do you'll feel more confident, enjoy generous doses of positive energy from the people around you and your place in the world will make a lot


 
Positive Practice

Your personal development is your sole responsibility. You can actively choose to cultivate your strengths and good qualities. It's a project that should last a lifetime and it will be an incredibly rewarding journey. You have an enormous amount to give to the world and the people you know. So without a moment's hesitation, let's get started.

Step 1 – Make a list of what you think your strengths and good qualities are. Your list might include gifted abilities such as having incredibly green fingers, or talent as a musician, and it should also include personal qualities such as patience or being a good listener.

Step 2 – Now comes the harder task of actively asking your friends and family what they think your good qualities are. You should add these to your list. I'm sure you'll enjoy a few pleasant surprises that will make the exercise worth your while.

Step 3 – You'll now have a super positive list of your strengths. It's up to you to focus on them and put them to good use on a daily basis. The more you use them, the stronger they will become and the more benefit you will gain from them.

To learn more about finding out who you are and how to change your role in life, download the DIY factsheet from the Milecastle Consultancy website by clicking  here.

 

The Resource Table

100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever by Steve Chandler - Working out what you do well will always fire up your motivation. Find out at least another 99 ways to help build confidence in your future success.

The Art of Building Windmills: Career Tactics for the 21st Century - by Peter Hawkins - Assessing your transferable skills and marketable qualities is a power tactic for building a fulfilling career that challenges you to achieve more.

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman - This will help you gain a better understanding of yourself as well as how emotions affect human interactions. Knowledge of your emotional strengths can make your everyday communications more effective.


 
What Can You Do?

Zennor from Aberdeen wanted to contribute more

Zennor had worked her way up to a management role in a medium sized company. She was well liked by her staff but she felt something was lacking. She attended Spring Forward and as a result felt more energised to assess the value of her work. Her list showed her that although she was a good at managing, applying her technical knowledge and skill gave her a greater feeling of achievement and was of greater value to the company. She was able to use this insight to approach the HR department and negotiate a more flexible role that allowed her to build her experience in both these areas.

What's Happening?

Navigator in Scotland

Your chance to experience the Navigator Personal Development Programme for Men at a free taster taking place at Dunblane Cathedral on 22nd October. The full course starts in mid November. If you've attended Springboard or Spring Forward and would like your male colleagues to benefit from a similar course then send them along! Details here: Building a strong personal brand will give you the edge in the competitive world of work and open up access to all sorts of opportunities. Contact us now to bring our half day, one or two day programmes to your workplace in 2010.

Next month we're going to look at your relationship with change and how you can put your past experiences to your advantage.


  
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